Wednesday Sep 25, 2024
Wednesday Sep 25, 2024
Wednesday, 18 December 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Marianne David
Q: How did Taj’s entry into Sri Lanka come about?
A: We have been here for more than 30 years. It’s a very interesting history. Your late President J.R. Jayewardene came to India and he stayed at the Taj Mahal hotel in Mumbai, which is our iconic property that is more than 100 years old. While he stayed there, he was in so much awe of the hotel that he met our Chairman, J.R.D. Tata and he said, ‘I want you to build a hotel like this in my country’. So Tata came here along with the senior Taj management and they saw this spot and said ‘we want to build our hotel at Galle Face’. There was an old building here and the President was kind enough to break that building and give us this spot for long lease. The 11 acres of land they gave us was the best land and was under the Army at that time. We’ve been very lucky to get this best spot in the country.
Q: Could you tell us about the design of the hotel?
A: In building this hotel we’ve taken the best help of an architect from Hawaii, Bob Fox, who was our architect here. He did this design for us which was very Sri Lankan with an Indian touch inside.
Q: Despite the hardship that followed, Taj chose to stay on in Sri Lanka. What was the thinking behind that decision?
A: We built this hotel and stayed back here despite the troubles which the country underwent. When there was turmoil, a lot of other hotel companies walked away but we stayed back because we had total confidence in the product and in the country.
We said we know this country will surely be very resilient and come back. That is the reason we stayed for so many years despite the hardship. There were times we made losses but we wanted to always remain here and show the people that we care and we know that there is resilience in this country.
We also have two more hotels – one is Vivanta by Taj in Bentota, which has been renovated with an investment of US$ 14 million; it has been totally transformed and re-launched. We’ve also got The Gateway Hotel at the airport, which has also been renovated and had rooms added.
Q: Could you tell us about the renovation at Taj Samudra Colombo?
A: A lot of people asked us ‘why don’t you make it a really luxurious hotel, providing the luxury the Taj is known for?’ There was a time when we were going through difficult times with low occupancy and low average room rates of 40 dollars, but we stayed back and we have now refurbished the property.
Today when we see the revival of the economy, we see that the situation has changed dramatically and we are happy to see that the country is now taking off as a great country in this part of South East Asia. We see the revival in the economy; we see infrastructure developing – airports, roads, bridges; we see very good governance and so we feel that it is the right time for us to come back. Our commitment to this beautiful country continues to grow.
Q: What was the investment for the renovation and what aspects did it cover?
A: We have spent US$ 16 million renovating this property and this is only phase one. In phase two, we will spend another US$ 5 to 10 million. You will see the remaining areas also being done.
Q: What can people expect from the Taj now, post-renovation?
A: Today we are proud to say that this is now a Taj luxury hotel of highest standards. You see the lobby, the ‘YUMI’ bar serving Japanese cuisine, the rooms that have been done are 550 sqft – the largest luxury rooms going in this part of the world. We have taken the best designer, David Edwards, from James Park Associates Ltd., who has done some great designs of great hotels like the Taj Bombay and the Lake Palace. We are very happy to see his designs.
It is not only the product that we are focusing on; we are also ensuring that we give guests the Taj warmth, Taj hospitality and Taj efficiency, and ensuring that the people of Sri Lanka experience some of the highest standards of hospitality.
Pix by Upul Abayasekara
